no motor?

I usually quit my 3 days a week or so bike commuting when the temperature drops below freezing due to being worried about falling on the ice and snow as well as not wanting to get salt on my bike. But the weather this year has been drier, and I've been able to keep riding even after the temperatures dropped below freezing. It's cold enough now to where I dress differently with that 10 degree or so decrease in temperatures, but it's more enjoyable than I thought it would be. And it's generated the "you rode today" comments that I hadn't heard in a while too, I guess everyone got used to my riding when it was in the 30's and 40's.

tarwheel 

I like riding in the cold. If you've got the right gear, it's not hard staying comfortable. However, I don't like riding in rain, sleet, snow or other precip. Good rain gear will keep you partially dry, but you still have to contend with poor visibility, foggy eye glasses, slippery roads, wet feet and a dirty bike to clean later.

joeyduck

Lately I have been really happy and every evening I get home and proclaim out loud to my cat (since no one else is home yet) who is sprawled waiting for a tummy rub that I love biking while I wear a giant smile.

I don't know why I have been feeling more that way the last few weeks than normal.

no motor?

Commuting does seem like it's more of an adventure now than it used to. One more thing to like.

bikemig 

I'm enjoying my cold weather commute as well. It's a bit of a pain to get rolling in the morning but it feels great once I get going. A balmy 23 F this morning and if I'm lucky, I'll get some snow on the way home.

rumrunn6

and wait until you see your thighs come spring!

joeyduck

I know my pants are always hard to find to fit my thighs and posterior. But they are getting pretty tight in the thighs these days.

I have been lucky it has been very dry and fairly warm. It has been in the 40-50°F range. Still I have only added shoe covers since August, I am awaiting the hammer to drop. Or should I say mercury?

Giant Doofus

When I started commuting in September 2013, I honestly expected to be a fair weather commuter. The first surprise rain shower cured me of that. Then I thought I'd be a warm weather commuter, but three polar vortexes later, I was still going at it. There is something liberating and exhilarating about doing it. I can remember thinking "hey, I'm not so fragile after all!"

And this year I'm better equipped! A new pair of polar shield pants from Foxwear just arrived in the mail today. Now I'm almost hoping for a cold and wet day to try them out

mcours2006

Same here. I've ridden more than I've driven. I don't think that I can become an every day bike commuter, but my goal for the next three months is to do it 2-3 times a week.

no motor?

It feels like I'd be ready for anything if I keep riding all winter.

My Foxwear jacket is a key piece of gear for me these days. Knee warmers over the good tights keep my legs warm, and the knee warmers even stay up better when I wear the tights than over bare skin.

bikemig 

There comes a point every winter where the roads become a solid sheet of ice. That's when I'm done. Even with studded tires I'm not too excited about riding on sheet of choppy ice, lol. Other than, I like the way the winter gets shorter because I ride deeper into the season.

tsl

My experience mirrors Giant Doofus' pretty well. I was frail and sickly as a child, and that self-image stuck with me for five decades. Plus I have Reynaud's so I get cold really easily.

That first winter, though, I decided I'd keep at it until it got too uncomfortable. Apparently the improved circulation brought on by cycling made it my warmest autumn ever. Next thing you know, I was buying studded snow tires, but still with the promise to myself that I'd use the bus if it got "too bad".

"Too bad" didn't happen for another seven years after that.

And like the OP, I see it as my twice daily adventure. Who'd want to miss out on that?

CrankyOne

A fellow cold Chicagoan for the OP:

Let's Go Ride a Bike | Adventures in city cycling

Wilbur Bud

The best part about below-freezing commutes is that it won't rain, just snow or ice, which work out a lot better for me as I find rain in the 30-40 degree F range much more annoying than snow or ice.

Jim from Boston

Well said.

So true.

wphamilton

After last winter, these freezing mornings seem trivial. I can't say that I actually enjoy the cold though. It's more tolerable than driving every day.

Bike Gremlin

The only time I'm not comfortable is when it is both cold and raining at the same time. Everything else is cool. I even prefer cold in some sick way - I can take layers off to stay comfortably cool - vs summer when I could use some chilling.

BobbyG

Plus there's not much opportunity to build and release endorphins in Chicagoland traffic, just the stress hormones. go, Go, GO! "no motor?"

DosWheelsBtr

Keep it up. I haven't been as good this year with the commuting.

no motor?

Thanks! I was pedaling home from our office Christmas party Wednesday evening and couldn't help but notice all the Christmas decorations in the yards I rode by. It wasn't what I expected to be doing, but it sure was nice. Even without the endorphins my body was making.

BobbyG

Thank YOU! I was going to pass on rding today, it was 19F and my limit is now 23F but after reading your post I grabbed my gear and rode! Lotsa fun, although I coulda used warmer socks.

joeyduck

I tried to get the family to go or for a ride the other night to check them out. They wanted nothing to do with it. Sad face

TransitBiker

As simple and easy as warm weather riding is...... i definitely get a thrill out of riding in the cold..... the colder the better.

- Andy

Sullalto

If you commute on a MUP/greenway, cold is awesome. Much less traffic.

vol

For one thing, it doesn't hurt when you fall while bundled with winter clothing